The inherent risks for infections from unclean public restrooms make proper procedure and protection paramount.

Most of us now know that the focus of the professional cleaning industry is protecting human health.

Nowhere is this more important than in the cleaning and maintenance of public restrooms.

According to some reports, micrococacceae, which can cause skin infections, can be found in varying degrees on nearly all public restroom toilet seats.

Other bacteria found in varying degrees on toilet seats include:

Coryneform, found on over 80 percent of all toilets tested, which can cause diphtheria and hepatitis

Streptococcaceae, found on 39 percent of all toilet seats tested, which can result in sore throat and bronchial pneumonia

Pseudomonadaceae, found on 22 percent of toilet seats, which can cause urinary tract infections and blood poisoning

Enterobacteriaceae, found on 19 percent of toilet seats, which is associated with kidney infections, salmonella and shigellosis.1

Even small amounts of urine left on a toilet seat for up to 45 minutes can result in cross contamination.

The good news is that restroom users are unlikely to contract a disease merely by sitting on a pathogen-covered toilet.

Still, many people avoid touching toilet seats — or even all restroom surfaces — in order to minimize the possibility of getting sick due to cross contamination.2

So who is really at risk of getting sick due to pathogens on toilet seats?

None other than the cleaning professionals who must touch, clean and maintain restrooms on a regular basis.

Doesn’t Wearing Gloves Protect Cleaning Professionals?

According to Bob Merkt, a building service contractor (BSC), cleaning instructor and consultant, while restrooms typically account for only about 5 percent of a building’s total space, they are responsible for nearly 40 percent of a facility’s total soil load.

But, unlike soils that simply mar a facility’s appearance that can typically be removed with little concern for health or safety, restroom soils often contain germs and bacteria such as those mentioned earlier, which can cause illness or infection.